Undisclosed Desires
by Dominus Umbra
Summary: Post Old Habbits. Diane had left Sun Hill behind, and that was that. Right?
1. Old Habbits

**AN: Not sure how frequent updates for this will be, 'coz I'm not enitrely sure where I'm going with it, but bear with me.**

**This story will contain femslash, so if that offends/bores you, don't read.  
**

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**Chapter One – Old Habits **

_I won't forget the way you made me feel  
I won't regret running away from here_

"And finally, this is our new sergeant, Diane Noble, formerly of Sun Hill. Feel free to introduce yourselves. Right, off you go."

That had been two weeks ago, and Diane was finally starting to settle into Barton Street. The people were different, the patch was different, and she still wasn't accustomed to people calling her 'Sarge', but she was getting used to it. And some things were exactly the same. CID still nicked all the interesting cases, the paperwork still seemed to multiply if you took your eye off it, and the coffee was still lousy.

One thing she wasn't getting used to, however, was the way her new inspector would burst in at frequent intervals, asking for updates. The man was a poster child for micro management, and it was driving Diane mental.

"Ahh, Di. Got an update on the assault case from this morning yet?"

It was the fifth time in as many hours that he'd asked. Diane had to stop herself gritting her teeth. "No further action, Sir. The victim wasn't prepared to go to court, she withdrew the complaint."

"Ahh well, win some, lose some, eh? Oh, yes. Your fellow sergeant is back from leave tomorrow, should ease your workload, let you get out with the troops a bit more."

Thank god for that, Diane thought, while outwardly she thanked Inspector Bryce as he left the sergeants' office whistling. She'd been stuck behind a desk – either in the sergeants' office or in custody – since she'd arrived, and she was itching to get out. The other sergeant returning meant that she might actually be able to.

***

The following morning, with the prospect of finally getting out of the station hovering over her, Diane was able to deal with a complaint against one of her PC's with composure.

"'ee didn't listen, that PC McKay, 'ee was all 'Oh we can't do anything about it, it's probably just kids.' If 'ee'da listened this wouldn'ta 'appened."

"Madam, I'm sure PC McKay took your complaint seriously, but realistically there's not a lot we could've done."

"Ahh, you coppers're all the same. Protect your own, close ranks. Bah."

"There are forms at the front desk if you still wish to make a complaint, Madam."

"Wha's the point? You'll just ignore it." The woman stormed off out the door, and Diane directed a wry smile at the uniform behind the front desk.

"Another satisfied customer. Buzz me through?"

The PC complied with a grin, then noticed someone come through the front door. "Welcome back, Sarge."

Diane turned, then realised the PC wasn't talking to her. She followed his gaze across the room, and saw the other Barton Street sergeant walking across the room. She frowned. There was something familiar about him. Then she saw the woman behind him and froze in shock.

"Sergeant Diane Noble." Nikki Wright said with a grin, "There's something I never thought I'd say."

***

Diane had completely forgotten that Nikki's husband worked at Barton Street. If she had remembered, she probably would have requested another posting. Too late for that now, she thought, trying to smile as she shook first Nikki's, then Doug's hand, feeling long-repressed emotion stir in the pit of her stomach at the contact. Doug excused himself to get changed, leaving the women to fumble through the awkward reunion, Diane feeling a complicated mix of both joy and trepidation when Nikki mentioned she had taken the vacated sergeant's position at Sun Hill after Weston's promotion. They continued the strained conversation about trivialities long enough to fulfil the dictates of courtesy, before Diane excused herself and fled into the warren of corridors that made up the station, taking refuge in a seldom-used writing room.

Nikki Wright. Someone Diane thought she'd never see again; a concept she both loved and loathed. The blond sergeant was one of the reasons Diane had left Sun Hill to begin with, not that she'd admitted that to her superiors at the time. Hell, she hadn't even admitted that to herself at the time. Working in Hertfordshire, however, away from the chaotic haze Sun Hill seemed to cast on her emotions and spending time with her ex and her son had given her plenty of time to re-examine her motives, and Diane had been surprised to find that Nikki had factored far more into her decision that she cared to admit. Her feelings for the married woman, feelings that were denied at first, then, when denial became impossible after the incident with the cop killer, grudgingly accepted but resolutely suppressed, had made it torturous for her to work with Nikki. Knowing that every day she'd go home to her happily married life had traced claws of jealousy across Diane's heart, and had probably been a source of the tension between the two officers. Diane knew she shouldn't feel the way she did, and it often manifested itself as hostility or snappishness towards the sergeant until she'd learned to hide it.

It had been Gary, her ex, who had forced her to admit that her bottled up emotions may have been more significant than Diane would admit, during an alcohol-induced deep-and-meaningful a few months after she'd moved. What was it he had said? "Someone as versed in emotional repression as you wouldn't have been so affected by 'nothing'. The Diane Noble I know wouldn't've run away from 'nothing'." And he was right. This was going to be difficult.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Diane discovered that if she ignored the fact that Doug was Nikki's husband, they got on quite well. His easy-going manner, and ability to redirect Bryce's constant need for updates made him a good ally, and once Diane had perfected the art of diverting the conversation away from Nikki, thus avoiding the swooping sensation in her stomach any time Doug mentioned the other sergeant, she found they worked well together. She was sure he noticed her reluctance to talk about his wife, but he probably put it down to their history, and Diane wasn't about to correct him.

***

"Ahh Diane. Any cases I should know about?" Bryce asked, sticking his head through the door for the fourth time in two hours. Diane thought she showed incredible restraint in not throwing something at him.

"Not really, Sir. Just that assault that PCs Archer and Cooper are following up."

"What about you, Doug?"

"Nothing to report, Sir."

"Excellent. Keep me informed, eh?" The inspector left, humming a tune to himself.

"I swear, if he comes in again before the end of shift…" Diane made strangling motions with her hands, and Doug grinned.

"Relax. You'll get used to it."

"Urgh. How have you put up with it for so long? Doesn't it bug you that he seems to think we need constant supervision?"

Doug chuckled. "It helps if you think of it as him taking an active interest. If it makes you feel any better, it took Nikki a while to get used to him as well. They never did see eye to eye."

"I can understand why…" Diane muttered, feeling the familiar jolt in her gut. She was thankful when further discussion was cut off by a knock on the door. "Come in."

PC James Archer stepped into the room. "Sarge, Coop had to go home. The inspector asked me to tell you. Some family crisis or summat."

Diane and Doug exchanged an exasperated glance. Bill Cooper had a 'family crisis' at least once a fortnight. Both sergeants looked back at the PC as he continued.

"So I was gunna take Tessa with me to follow up on this assault case."

Diane stood. "No, I'll come with you. I'm going stir crazy in here." It was a good excuse, it covered her true motivation for escaping the office – that she and Doug had been straying dangerously close to the subject she didn't want to discuss with him.

"Okay Sarge, meet you at the car."

Diane saved the report she'd been working on and logged off. Doug watched her with an exaggerated mournful expression. "D'you reckon Bryce'd notice if I went too?"

Diane grinned at him. "Probably. Enjoy your paperwork." Doug's half-hearted grumblings followed her as she left the room.

***

Ten minutes later, James was regaling Diane with tales from his years at Barton Street as they drove to the assault victim's house. The PC was a great deal like Tony Stamp, which meant Diane had liked him almost instantly.

Just before they reached their destination, however, his current story – which involved half of CID chasing a wily dog around a park to retrieve a piece of evidence – was cut short, as James was forced to slam the brakes on to avoid hitting the woman who had run out in front of the car, screaming.

"My daughter! They took my daughter!"

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**Review, 'coz I need feedback on this, peoples.**


	2. The Universe Thought it was Funny

**AN: Woo, my last update of '09. Happy New Year, people.**

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**Chapter Two – The Universe Thought it was Funny**

_My polyamorus friend  
You got me in a mess of trouble again _

"Okay, okay, settle down." Inspector Bryce called, bringing the briefing room to order. "Okay people, as most of you have probably heard, we've got an abduction on our hands. Nine-year-old Amanda Fray," He indicated a picture of a young girl who was smiling at them from the board, "taken approximately two hours ago from Maycroft Road. According to the mother, she and her daughter were on their way back from the shops when two men in a white van pulled up, overpowered her and took off with Amanda. Now, she was taken on our patch, but she lives on Sun Hill's side of the border, so Inspector Weston has sent one of her officers to liaise with us, Sergeant Nikki Wright."

Diane felt the now-familiar swooping sensation in her gut as he nodded towards the doorway, where Nikki was leaning against the wall. Of course, it had to be her. Fate was a bitch.

"Some of you may remember her. She's here to keep us up to speed on Sun Hill's investigation, and to keep them informed of ours. As usual, CID have taken it upon themselves to do all the interesting parts, leaving the donkeywork to us, which in this case is door-to-door and trawling through the CCTV. Your assignments are here, all information comes back to this room. Hop to it."

As the gathering broke up, Bryce raised his voice above the noise. "Sergeants Wright and Noble, hang back a moment." All three sergeant stopped and turned, Doug and Nikki both unsure which Sergeant Wright he was referring to. "Nikki, I meant." He clarified, and Doug left. "Okay, I know you two have worked together in the past, and since I can't really pair you with your husband, Nikki, I'm putting you with Diane. I assume that will be okay?"

"Yes sir." Was the response he got from both women, albeit slightly grudgingly from Diane.

"Excellent. You two can stay here to co-ordinate the searches, and keep CID informed of anything Sun Hill finds." He followed the rest of the team out of the room, oblivious to his subordinate's reluctance.

"This isn't going to be a problem, is it? Us working together?" Nikki questioned as Diane began to construct a timeline on the board. "I know you and I didn't exactly get on in the past…"

"No, it's fine. Clean slate?" Diane offered her hand, ignoring the jolt in her stomach and the tingling sensation up her arm as Nikki shook it.

"Deal."

* * *

Being stuck in the incident room with the Sun Hill sergeant wasn't as painful as Diane anticipated. That feeling – she refused to acknowledge it as jealousy – plagued her whenever Doug came in to pass on information, always greeting Nikki with a brief kiss, but Diane learnt to time it so that she wasn't in the room when the male sergeant entered. She also learnt that if she avoided being physically close to Nikki herself, she was able to mostly control her other emotions as well. If Nikki noticed her behaviour, she didn't mention it.

***

Hours later, they got a result.

"Sarge, the ANPR cameras flagged the van heading west on Webbly Drive about an hour ago. The time-frame fits."

"Brilliant, thanks James. Can you let CID know?"

"Yes Sarge."

Nikki was already examining a map of the area.

"Okay, Webbly Drive…It heads towards the Leyton Estate, that's probably where they are. We should start trawling the CCTV in that area."

Diane moved to join her. "They might've been heading to that old industrial estate. It's a CCTV black spot, so they'd probably feel more secure there. Someone should go and check it out."

"Everyone's busy." Nikki pointed out.

"We're not. Doug can take over here; it doesn't need all three of us."

Nikki hesitated.

"C'mon Nikki, I'll clear it with Inspector Bryce. It won't take long, it'll get us out of the station for a couple'a hours, and it might get us closer to finding Amanda." Diane cajoled, knowing she was probably going to go stir crazy if she didn't get out of the station soon.

Nikki folded. "Fine. You go tell Bryce, I'll find Doug. Meet you at the car in ten."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the sergeants were driving towards the industrial estate, and Diane was wondering where her masochistic desire to be in a car with the blond woman had come from. Neither of them spoke, except for the odd murmured direction on Nikki's part. Their close proximity was making Diane feel both exhilarated and slightly uneasy. Eventually, they pulled up on the outskirts of a mostly-empty wasteland on the edge of the estate.

"Okay. So you've just kidnapped a 9-year-old girl in broad daylight, you're pretty sure our lot are gunna be looking for you, and you need a place to hide. Where do you go?" Diane said, thinking out loud.

"Well, there are three or four empty warehouses on this estate, we should start there."

Diane nodded and restarted the car.

***

"Look, right there! That's the van." Diane braked suddenly at Nikki's exclamation, causing the car to skid. There was indeed a white van partially hidden behind an old shipping container. Just beyond the shipping container lay a warehouse, looming up through the light mist of rain that had begun to fall. Diane killed the engine and opened her door.

"I'm gunna go take a look."

"Di, wait! They could—" but the other sergeant was gone. Cursing softly, Nikki followed her.

They approached the van cautiously.

"Well, the index matches." Diane noted once they could see the licence plates.

"Yeah. Call it in, my radio's still on the Sun Hill frequency."

Diane drew back slightly and reached for her radio while Nikki went for a closer look, mentally cursing the rain, which seemed to be getting heavier out of sheer perversity, erasing any forensics outside the van.

"_Sierra Bravo from 48, me 'n Sierra Oscar 87 are at the old industrial estate off the Leyton, we've found--" _she broke off suddenly, and after a moment, her radio crackled a response.

"_48 from Sierra Bravo, could you repeat, please? Over."_

Diane said nothing, and Nikki turned to see what the problem was, then froze. The Barton Street sergeant was standing perfectly still, gazing at a man of about twenty-five, who was standing a few feet away, and pointing a gun in her direction.

"Hey! Out from behind the van or… I'll… I'll shoot your friend here!"

Nikki didn't think he would, judging by his demeanour, but she figured it was probably best not to antagonise him. She walked slowly to stand beside her colleague, keeping her hands where he could see them.

"Why don't you put the gun down, eh?" Diane started, but the gunman interrupted her.

"Shut up! And get your hand away from that." He yelled, indicating her radio with the weapon. "In fact, both of you take your radios and gear off and toss them here. Now!" he ordered as the women hesitated. They both winced as he thrust the gun in their direction, and did as he commanded, throwing their equipment belts and radios toward him.

"Good. Now…uhhh…shit, Dave, where are you…" he muttered quietly, glancing over his shoulder. He was still pointing the gun at them, waving it erratically from one to the other.

It was this random switching of targets that that probably saved Diane's life, for when a loud bang echoed through warehouse behind him, the gunman reflexively tightened his grip on the weapon, inadvertently pulling the trigger. But because of his erratic aim, the bullet missed Diane's torso, burying itself in her arm instead, and causing her to stumble backward.

The last sensations Diane was aware of were an excruciating burning in her arm, Nikki's arms around her as she fell, and the sound of two male voices yelling incoherently before her brain reached its pain threshold and she blacked out.


	3. Bonded by Trauma

**AN: C'mon people, I need your feedback on this. Seriously.**

**Thanks to Afor for the reviews.  
**

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**Chapter Three – Bonded by Trauma**

_I'm strong on the surface, not all the way through  
I've never been perfect, but neither have you_

Diane woke to a world of pain. Her left arm felt like it was on fire, and the rest of her body ached dully. She was dimly aware of someone shouting somewhere outside, but couldn't find the strength to concentrate. She brought her right hand up to feel her left arm, but stopped when it made the pain worse. Her fingers came away slick with blood. The voices were becoming clearer, though, and after a moment, the sergeant found her brain could translate the sounds into words.

"—left you on your own. So now, not only do we have a nine-year-old girl to worry about, we also have two bloody coppers! You pillock, Mick. This was s'posed to be a simple job."

"S'not my fault, is it? What was I s'pose to do, shoot 'em both? I ain't killin' no-one, Dave, that weren't part of the deal."

"You already shot one of them!"

"I didn't mean to! 'Sides, it was in the arm, she'll be okay."

Easy for him to say. His arm didn't feel like it'd been hacked off… Wait a minute. Two coppers? Who else– Shit. Nikki had been with her. Diane forced her eyes open, and took in her surroundings. She was lying on her back, looking up at the roof of what was probably the warehouse that the van had been parked outside. She sat up, groaning as her arm complained loudly, and looked around in the semi-darkness as the voices outside continued to argue. She could see the outline of a figure lying a little distance away from her, and began to drag herself toward it, trying to keep her weight off her injured limb.

"Nikki? Nikki, wake up. C'mon, Nikki, I need your help here…" she shook the other sergeant gently, her reluctance to be close to her Sun Hill colleague evaporating under the circumstances. Diane noted the bruise on Nikki's temple and the fact that both of them were missing their radio, vest and equipment as Nikki groaned, and slowly opened her eyes. "Hiya."

"Di? What the hell happened? Where are we?"

"Not sure." As the painkiller effect of the sleep was wearing off the pain in her arm was getting worse, and Diane was starting to feel lightheaded and woozy. She glanced down. Had there been that much blood soaking her sleeve before? She didn't think so. "Uhh, Nikki, a little help?"

Nikki followed her gaze and gasped, sitting up abruptly. "Oh, god." She looked around for something to stop the bleeding as Diane shifted so she was sitting with her back against the wall. Finding nothing, Nikki quickly took her jumper off and tore the seam at the shoulder, separating the sleeve. Rolling it into a pad, and trying to concentrate through a blinding headache, she ripped Diane's sleeve to expose the wound. There was a thin, blood-soaked layer of cloth tied around her arm, which explained why she hadn't bled to death yet. Nikki pressed the pad against the wound causing Diane to groan loudly. "Here, hold this for a sec. Press hard on it. Di! Don't go to sleep!" She added, noting her colleague's drooping head and fluttering eyelids. "Press hard on this." The wounded sergeant did as she ordered, hissing in pain, and Nikki moved to retrieve a length of rope from a little way away. Grabbing hold of it, she tied it firmly around Diane's arm to hold the pad in place. "Diane, stay awake. What happened?"

"M'not sure. I remember finding the van, and getting out of the car… S'all blank after that…"

"Yeah…Someone'll find us, though. Right? I mean, they knew where we were going…"

"Yeah."

They both fell silent as they heard the scraping of a door opening. Light spilled into the room briefly, before being blocked by a figure.

"Oh shit, Dave! They're awake! What the hell do we do now?"

A second silhouette joined the one at the door and peered into the room. "Leave them. We can just take the girl and get outta here.

"The boss said to stay here!"

"What do you suggest then, genius? Shoot them both?"

"No, I already told you I ain't killing nobody. Besides, look at 'em. That one," he pointed to Diane, "ain't going nowhere."

"And the other one?"

The first one, Mick, looked at Nikki, indecision written all over his face. The second, Dave, rolled his eyes, then walked toward her, pulling a gun out of his waistband as he did so. Nikki subconsciously shifted so she was between him and Diane as he crouched down to their level. "Okay, listen to me. You see this gun here? You move, you try to escape, and I'ma shoot you, your friend, and the girl. You get me? All three of you, dead. So no funny shit."

For half a second, Nikki contemplated tackling him, but a subtle pressure on her arm from Diane stopped her. Instead, she merely nodded, eyeing the gun.

"Good girl." Dave walked back to the door and pushed Mick out of sight before closing it again, plunging the room back into darkness. For a moment, the only sound was the drumming of the rain, which had progressed from a light mist to a steady downpour, before Nikki spoke.

"Why'd you stop me? I could've taken him."

"And got yourself shot at the same time." Diane retorted with a pained grimace. "Not something I'd enjoy explaining to Doug, even if I did make it out of here by myself."

Nikki glared at her momentarily before turning so she could mirror Diane's position against the wall. "I would've been fine."

"And if you hadn't been? What would I've told your kids, eh? 'Sorry girls, mummy's not coming home because she wanted to play the hero'?"

"Alright! I get it!" Nikki turned her head to glare at Diane again, only to find the other sergeant glaring back, the pain in her eyes outshone by the anger and some other emotion that Nikki didn't want to decipher.

As Diane was about to reply, the door was pushed open again and a small figure shoved into the room, averting the incipient argument. Both women recognised her from the photos back at the nick. It was Amanda.

"Here. You coppers can do a spot of babysittin' for us. It's easier watchin' just the one room."

The door was pulled shut again. Amanda stayed where she was, shaking and crying silently. Diane nudged Nikki and nodded towards the girl, the earlier tension forgotten. Nikki took the hint and stood slowly, approaching the crying girl.

"Hi, Amanda. You're Amanda, aren't you? My name's Nikki, and that's Diane. We're police officers."

Amanda flinched back as she drew nearer. "I wanna go home, I don't wanna be here." She sobbed, and Nikki reached out a hand to her.

"It's okay, we're gunna get you out of here, alright? Our friends are looking for us right now, and it won't be long before they find us. You'll be okay."

The girl looked at Nikki for a moment before taking her hand and letting the sergeant pull her into a hug. Nikki led her over to sit next to Diane, but upon catching sight of the blood staining her shirt, Amanda recoiled.

"Why is she bleeding? What happened to her?"

"It's okay, she'll be fine. Right, Di?"

"Yeah. It's just a little cut, I'll be okay." Diane agreed, trying to keep the pain and fatigue out of her voice. Amanda hesitated, then sat down on Diane's uninjured side. Nikki knelt in front of them.

"Are you okay? Have the men hurt you at all?"

The girl shook her head.

"Good." Nikki glanced past Amanda to check on Diane, and saw her colleague was slumped forward with her eyes shut.

"Shit." She moved to grab her shoulders "Diane! Open your eyes. C'mon Di, stay with me…" Her eyes flew open and the Sun Hill sergeant released a breath. "Don't do that to me. Don't go to sleep, okay?"

"Sorry." Diane's voice was slurred and her face drawn. "What'd reckon the chances of getting some painkillers or something are?"

"Slim to none, probably, but it's worth a shot." Nikki stood, and by the time Diane's pain-clouded brain worked out what she was doing, it was too late to stop her.

"No, Nikki, wait!" The other sergeant ignored her, walking to the door and pulling it open, making sure it made enough noise to attract attention. Within five seconds, the one called Mick appeared, waving his firearm.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" he gripped Nikki's arm and pulled her out of the room. Diane heard her arguing softly with the gunman, then after a minute, two sets of footsteps echoing back through the door, fading quickly until the only sound was that of the rain.

Amanda had grasped Diane's wound-free arm tightly when Mick appeared, and tightened her grip when Nikki had disappeared from view. The fact that she could barely feel the almost-death-grip worried Diane. That, along with her fear for Nikki and the hypnotic rhythm of the rain hitting the roof, was making the urge to close her eyes harder and harder to ignore.

"Amanda, I need you to do me a favour." The sergeant started, trying to look at the girl who had her head buried between Diane's shoulder and the wall. "Don't let me go to sleep, okay? If I close my eyes, shake me and talk to me until I wake up." The girl nodded, and shifted slightly so she could see Diane's face.

"Why can't you go to sleep?"

"'Coz if I go to sleep I might not wake up again." The sergeant could still feel the fatigue gnawing at her. She needed a distraction. "Tell me about your family. Do you and your brother get on?"

"Sometimes. He teases me a bit, but he sticks up for me too. He says the only person allowed to pick on me is him." The young girl launched into a story of how her brother had stopped other girls bullying her, and Diane found that by concentrating on her words, the fatigue and pain faded slightly. It also had the added effect of taking Amanda's mind off the situation and Nikki's absence.

***

Roughly ten minutes later, the door was forced open again and Nikki re-entered, followed by Mick who had the handgun pressed between her shoulder blades. Nikki was dripping wet and carrying a first-aid kit. The blond sergeant knelt down next to her fellow captives and was promptly latched on to by Amanda as Diane exhaled heavily. "Nikki, don't ever do that to me again."

She smiled wearily at her wounded counterpart and popped the kit open. "Sorry. Here, take these." She dried her hands and handed Diane two tablets from the kit, which she swallowed dry. "Fast-acting painkillers, should take the edge off."

"So she'll be okay now, yeah? She's not gunna die or nuthin'…" Mick questioned nervously from the doorway, still aiming the gun in their general direction.

"She needs to go to hospital, Mick. You shot her."

"No way. No way, Dave would kill me. The boss said to stay here until we got the call. She'll be fine." Mick backed hastily out the door, pulling it shut behind him.

Nikki swore softly. "Well, it was worth a try." She shifted so she could check Diane's arm, gently prising her colleague's hand away from where it was clamped around the injury. The padding over the wound was soaked in blood, the rope holding it in place dyed red. "I need to change that." She rummaged through the first-aid kit, pulling out a wad of gauze and a roll of bandages. "This is probably going to hurt." The sergeant warned, before untying the rope as gently as she could. Diane let out a hiss of pain, which turned into a groan as Nikki pulled the padding away, exposing the wound and Amanda turned away looking sick. Nikki quickly re-covered the bullet hole with the gauze, pressing hard to stem the fresh flow of blood. She wrapped the bandage firmly around it to bind it in place, eliciting another groan from the wounded sergeant. "Sorry."

"S'okay. Remind me never to get shot again, though…"

Nikki simply grinned as she checked the pulse in Diane's wrist, ensuring the bandage hadn't cut the circulation, then shifted so she was sitting next to her Barton Street colleague.

* * *

Eventually, the events of the last twelve hours caught up with Amanda, and the nine-year-old succumbed to her fatigue in Nikki's lap. The sergeant stroked the girl's hair as she slept, lost in thought. She was trying not to contemplate what would happen if they weren't found soon, glancing sideways at Diane. Nikki knew she wouldn't last much longer without medical attention. She noticed her eyelids fluttering again and nudged her gently, being careful to avoid her arm. "Oi, stay awake."

Diane's head jerked upward. "Damn it. Sorry. I'm just…so tired…" Her words were slurred.

"Talk to me, then."

"Alright." There was a short pause, then "How did you get Mick to let you get the kit?"

"I told him that if he didn't want killing a copper to add to his previous, then he'd better get me something for you. It scared him enough to for him to let me get the kit from the car. I think if Dave had been there it wouldn't've worked, though."

"Did you see anyone around?"

"No. But don't worry, they'll find us. We've been missing for hours now, and they knew where we were going. It shouldn't be much longer. They'll find us."

"What if they don't? I don't wanna die here, Nikki. You and I both know that if they don't find us in the next few hours, that's what's gunna happen. I don't wanna bleed out in this warehouse…" she was getting slightly hysterical now, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Nikki put her arm around her, being careful not to bump the wound on her arm.

"Hey, it's okay, you'll be fine."

"You don't know that. If they don't find us, that's exactly what's gunna happen. I'm scared, Nik, I don't wanna die."

The admission was so out of character for Diane, especially since it was Nikki she was talking to, that Nikki wasn't entirely sure how to react. The admission of fear from the normally hyper-controlled sergeant threw her so badly that she simply reverted to her instincts. That's what she told herself later, anyway. That is was her instinct to comfort the frightened sergeant that led her to press her lips against Diane's, not desire. That the comfort she drew from the gentle kiss was because of the reassurance of the human contact in a life-threatening situation, not because it felt so very right.

It was Nikki who eventually drew away when Amanda shifted slightly in her lap, mumbling in her sleep. She glanced down at her briefly before meeting Diane's eye. "You will be fine, okay? They'll find us; we'll get out of here. You're not going to die."

Almost as if to prove her right, moments later, they heard the pounding of feet and Mick's raised voice. "Dave! Dave! There's friggin' coppers outside! Tons of 'em, and they've got guns!"

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**Drama! Suspense! Reviews?**

_Yes, I know Di is probably slightly OOC in this chapter, but it was necessary__, I swear._


	4. Unexpected Emotions

**AN: I think I forgot to mention this in the first chapter, but this story takes place in the gap between Old Habbits and Smash and Grab (the events of which will come either later in this story or in the sequal {yes, I've yet to finish this story and I'm already working on a sequal. Lets hear it for optimism!}). So yeah, just pretend the episode between those two streched for serval months.**

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**Chapter Four – Unexpected Emotions**

_It's like a whirlwind inside of my head  
It's like I can't stop what I'm hearing within_

Outside the warehouse, heedless of the rain slowly soaking her uniform, Inspector Weston was pacing agitatedly around a gradually expanding puddle and throwing annoyed glances intermittently in the direction of her counterpart from Barton Street. The man on the receiving end of those glares was sitting on the rear step of the CO19 van fiddling nervously with his tie while next to him sat Doug Wright, who was following the shadow Rachel cast in the flashing blue lights with his eyes and absently twisting a radio in his hands. The Sun Hill Inspector's irritation was well founded, for although they'd reportedly been missing for almost six hours, Inspector Bryce had not seen fit to take any action to find Nikki or Diane, or even inform Nikki's superiors at Sun Hill until just under an hour ago. Rachel would be having words with him about that later.

Finally, the CO19 team leader gave the order to move out. The armed officers forced the door open, and the next few minutes were filled with shouting echoing through the building, partially drowned out by the sound of the rain. Suddenly a single gunshot cut through the noise, and Doug jumped to his feet and ran towards the warehouse with a cry. Rachel caught him by the arm and held him back.

After several tense minutes, the CO19 offices filed back out of the building, and the two inspectors and Doug ran to meet them followed closely by the paramedics. One of the officers was carrying a barely conscious Diane, who was moaning incoherently and had blood staining most of her once-white shirt. He was followed by Nikki, whose arm was being gripped tightly by a terrified Amanda. Doug ran to embrace his wife before being shooed by the paramedics, while Rachel approached the team leader.

"What happened?"

"Both suspects were arrested Ma'am. The weapon was accidentally discharged when the suspect dropped it, but no one was injured."

Rachel exhaled and ran a hand through her wet hair. "Thank you, Sergeant." He nodded and moved away, and Bryce came over, having been consulting the paramedics. "How are they?"

"Nikki has a few bruises, and maybe a concussion, but nothing serious. The girl doesn't have a mark on her. They're taking them both to the hospital as a precaution, but they'll probably be fine."

"And Diane?"

"They say she suffered seriously blood loss, and they need to get the bullet out of her arm before it gets infected. They said if they can manage that, and replace the blood, she should be okay. Nikki did a good job, apparently. Diane would've bled to death if not for her."

Weston exhaled and rubbed her eyes. "Okay, I'm going to the hospital. Can you contact Superintendents Heaton and Kane and organise a joint debrief? And call PC Brown, tell her to get the Fray's over to the hospital." Her counterpart nodded and walked off towards his car and Rachel turned to see Doug trying to convince a paramedic to let him into the ambulance. "Doug, I'll give you a lift; let the paramedics do their job." The paramedic shot her a grateful look as Doug reluctantly acquiesced.

* * *

At the hospital, Diane was immediately taken into surgery. The doctors had wanted to take Nikki for a scan to make sure her head wound wasn't more serious than it appeared, but the sergeant convinced them to wait until Amanda's family got there, much to Doug's chagrin. The girl was still scared, and still hadn't let go of Nikki's arm.

Amanda's mother and brother arrived about twenty minutes later, accompanied by Millie, who was their FLO. Upon catching site of her family, Amanda flew over to them and was instantly engulfed in a hug. The nurse, noticing that the girl had finally relinquished her grip on the sergeant, began hovering conspicuously in the background. Doug noticed and told Nikki she was going for a scan now, or else. She was reluctant to leave Amanda, but when Rachel ordered her to go, she acquiesced and allowed herself to be led away by a nurse who was muttering about cops being worse patients than doctors.

***

After the scan, Doug had wanted to take her straight home, but Nikki refused to leave the hospital without seeing Diane.

"Doug, I'm fine. The doctors said I'm fine."

"They also said you need to rest. There's no need for you to stay here; Inspector Weston will call you with any news about Diane."

"No, I need to see her for myself. I need to know she's okay." That was true enough. Nikki's fear that the other sergeant might not make it out of the operating theatre was like a knife in her stomach.

"Fine." He wasn't happy, Nikki could see that, but at that moment, she didn't care. "I have to go call Hannah, tell her what's going on." Hannah was Nikki's step-daughter, and was babysitting her younger siblings while her parents were at work.

As Doug left the waiting room, Rachel came to sit beside her sergeant. "How you feeling?"

"I'm okay, Ma'am."

The inspector didn't look convinced. "You sure? If you wanna talk to someone…"

"I'm fine, Ma'am, really. Where's Amanda?"

"Millie took her and her family home. We'll have to talk to her at some point, but not immediately. I'd like you there when we do."

Nikki nodded as Doug reappeared, followed seconds later by a doctor, whom Nikki was quick to pounce on.

"Is Diane okay?"

"The surgery went well, she's in recovery. The bullet had lodged in the bone, but we were able to extract it and repair the damage, as well as replace the lost blood. We'll keep her in for a few days for observation, and she should take it easy for a couple of weeks."

Nikki heard Doug mutter "No chance…" behind her, but ignored him as the doctor continued.

"She'll be out of it on the sedatives for a while, and some of the painkillers she's on will make her fairly groggy when she does wake up, so you probably won't be able to talk to her properly until tomorrow at the earliest."

Nikki had expected the rush of relief that flowed through her at the doctor's words and washed away the fear. While it was true that she and Diane hadn't got on in the past, it was impossible to go through something like that without some sort of bond being formed. What she hadn't expected, however, was the confused tangle of emotions that had lain under the fear; a tangle she hadn't experienced since the first time she'd laid eyes on Doug. She knew, deep in her heart what it meant, but her brain refused to acknowledge it; there was no way she felt that way about Diane Noble. She was straight. She was married. No, it just couldn't happen.

Even as she thought that, though, an image of the kiss they'd shared just before CO19 stormed the warehouse floated into her mind's eye, along with the whispered insinuation that she'd drawn far more comfort from the contact than she should have. She forced the image away with vehement denials. No. It couldn't happen. There was no way.

Nikki was snapped out of her thoughts by Doug's hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, you know she's okay, can I take you home now?" He was obviously concerned, but Nikki was still reluctant to leave, something both Doug and Rachel picked up on.

Rachel moved to stand beside her. "Nikki, Diane's gunna be fine. You, on the other hand, need to rest, so consider this an order: Go back to the nick, get changed, then go home and sleep. I don't want to see you in tomorrow, either."

"Ma'am, I don't—"

"No buts." She ordered, as Doug mouthed 'thank you' when Nikki wasn't looking. "Go home."

* * *

**AN: C'mon people, I know you're reading this, but reviews are awesome. Thanks to the people who _are_ reviewing.**


	5. There, I Said It

**AN: Once again, thanks to those of you who are reading/reviewing this.**

* * *

**Chapter Five – There, I Said it**

_And I let it all out to find  
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind_

The first thing Diane was aware of was a rhythmic beeping. An annoying rhythmic beeping. She opened her eyes and the world spun dizzyingly for a moment, then settled, and the sergeant recognised the white ceiling of St Hugh's, and the beeping as coming from a heart monitor. For a moment she wondered what she was doing there, before her head cleared slightly and her memory returned, albeit fuzzily and a tad disjointed.

She shifted up in the bed experimentally, wondering if that slight movement would be enough to aggravate the dull throbbing ache that was her left side. When it only made it slightly worse, she tried sitting up. That was apparently pushing it too far, as the ache turned into a painful burning sensation and her head swam. Diane groaned and fell back onto the pillow. The sound attracted the attention of a passing nurse, who came in to check on her.

"Good, you're awake." The nurse told her, in case she hadn't realised already. "I'll just check your vitals then I'll page the doctor. Try not to move too much."

Her voice apparently still wasn't working properly, so the sergeant just nodded. The nurse left, and a few moments later, a doctor pushed through the door.

"Ahh, Diane, you're awake, good. How much do you remember?" He questioned as he checked her arm, throwing her an apologetic glance as she winced.

Diane had to clear her throat a few times before she could talk properly. "I remember bits from the warehouse. Not much, though, and it's not very clear."

"That's normal, because of the blood loss. How—"

"Is Nikki okay?" She asked, cutting him off. He didn't seem to mind, though.

"The other officer? Yes, she's fine. A few minor bruises. The young girl is also okay. She was reunited with her family yesterday evening."

Diane let out a breath and nodded as the doctor continued, asking her questions about the pain, and about what else she remembered. He seemed satisfied with her answers – despite the fact that Diane had deliberately left a few particular details out of her recount of events – and told her that she should be able to go home in a few days. Then he suggested Diane rest, and left the room, leaving the sergeant with the confused memories his questions had uncovered.

***

Later that day, Diane jerked out of a nightmare-plagued sleep to find that she was no longer alone in the room. "Nikki?"

"Hiya."

"How long've you been there?" Diane questioned, though she found the notion of Nikki watching her sleep didn't bother her as much as it should've.

"Not long. How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay. What happened? I remember CO19 storming in, then it gets kinda fuzzy…"

Nikki shrugged. "There's not much to tell, really. They arrested Dave and Mick, Amanda was reunited with her family. You did miss Weston 'talking to' Bryce about not raising the alarm sooner, but you're probably about the only person in Canley. She was fairly annoyed at him." Nikki added by way of explanation. "She took most of it out on the suspects, though; she managed to terrify Mick into a confession. Dave caved after that."

Suppressing a grin at the thought of Rachel terrifying someone, Diane asked, "Did he say said why they took Amanda?"

Her counterpart sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, they screwed up."

"What?"

"It was apparently some drug turf thing, yano, two rival dealers. One of them hired Mick and Dave to kidnap the other guy's daughter, try to scare him into backing down, but our two geniuses got the wrong kid."

"So I lost three pints of blood over a screw up? Brilliant."

"Yeah." There was a pause, and Nikki suddenly dropped her gaze. "Uhh, how much do you remember from before CO19 came in?"

Diane's mind immediately flashed to the part of her recount she'd neglected to mention to the doctor. The part she'd been, until that moment, putting down to a blood loss-induced hallucination. But now, seeing the way Nikki refused to meet her gaze, the sergeant realised that it had been very real. She hesitated for a moment, firmly suppressing the urge to grin foolishly, before answering. "I remember you kissed me." Nikki's expression became slightly worried, and her eyes shot up to meet Diane's before sliding away again. Diane interpreted that as her wishing it had never happened, and acted accordingly, this time suppressing a very different emotion. "Nikki, it's fine. I was bleeding to death, we were scared… Let's just put it down to a difficult situation and move on, eh?"

Nikki's eyes flashed briefly up to hers again and she nodded. "Yeah." They stared at each other for a moment, each trying to read the emotions in the other's eyes, before Nikki broke the silence. "I should probably go, Doug'll be waiting for me." Nikki stood, and Diane noted that she still wouldn't quite meet her eye.

"Alright. But don't leave me here too long, I'll die of boredom."

Nikki smiled slightly. "I'll send Tony in with some grapes. Get better, yeah?"

"'Bye Nikki."

***

As Nikki pushed through the door, she was met with a sight that made her stomach drop: Doug, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his face impassive. He knew.

"How much of that did you hear?" She asked finally, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

"Enough."

"I'm sorry."

"That's what you said to Jason, right after you kissed me." He named her ex-husband. "And after that you said 'But there's someone else'."

"This is different! What happened with Diane didn't mean anything." Nikki insisted, ignoring the little voice in her head that whispered _'Liar'_.

"That's another thing; since when have you liked women?" He changed tack, ignoring her assurance and earning a curious glance from a passing nurse. "You'd think that I'd know something like that about my wife after thirteen years."

"It. Didn't. Mean. Anything." She replied, sidestepping the question. "I was scared, she was dying. We both needed human contact; gender didn't come into it." God that little voice was annoying.

Doug looked at her steadily for a moment before opening his mouth to reply. Nikki beat him to it, though.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm tired, I don't want to do this right now." She turned and walked off down the hall towards the elevator, trying to sort out what she was thinking and feeling.

A few seconds later, she felt Doug's hand on her shoulder " Nikki, Nikki, wait. I'm sorry. If you say it didn't mean anything, I believe you. You just scared me, I guess. I thought I'd lost you in that warehouse." She turned to face him and he opened his arms. "Forgive me?"

The sergeant allowed herself to be pulled into a hug, resolutely pushing her inner conflict to the back of her mind, and longing for the time when a hug from her husband could solve anything.

"Let's go home, eh?"

* * *

Unfortunately, Doug wasn't nearly as understanding with Diane, which meant the next few weeks at Barton Street were not pleasant. Doug irrationally held Diane responsible for Nikki being at the warehouse, and frequently reminded her. That, on top of his ill feeling about the kiss meant that his attitude towards his colleague degenerated rapidly. He was belligerent and vindictive, taking every opportunity to undermine her authority or countermand her orders to the team. When Diane confronted him about it, he feigned innocence, of course, which made it difficult for her to make any sort of formal complaint, and she was determined not to sink to his level. As a result, Bryce remained blissfully ignorant of any dissension in his ranks. The rest of the relief, however, picked up on the tension between their sergeants, and rumours were rife as to the source of it.

Because she was still on restricted duties – having insisted on coming back to work as soon as physically possible – Diane had no way of escaping the constant speculative glances and muffled whispers that followed her around the station. That, in combination with Doug petulance and Bryce's micro-management, meant that when Diane caught sight of Rachel Weston talking to Superintendant Kane one afternoon, it took her about half a second to make up her mind and chase after the Sun Hill inspector.

***

Diane caught up to Weston in the front office. "Ma'am! Can I talk to you for a moment?"

She turned. "Of course, Diane. What can I do for you?"

"Uhh, in here." Rachel looked intrigued as Diane led her into the front interview room.

"What's up?"

"Ma'am, I was wondering if there was any chance of me transferring back to Sun Hill."

"You want to come back to Sun Hill? You've only been gone a couple of months."

"It's more a case of wanting to get out of Barton Street, Ma'am. Put it down to personality clash."

"Who with?"

"Mostly Inspector Bryce. I'm having trouble working with his style of management. Or mismanagement, as the case may be." She added quietly.

Rachel smiled slightly and took a seat. "I can understand that. He's very… detail oriented, Daniel Bryce."

Diane nodded, then hesitated, trying to decide if she should tell the inspector the other reason. She decided that it'd probably come out anyway, so continued. "Also the other sergeant, Ma'am."

"What, Doug Wright? Isn't he the 'get on with everyone' type?"

"I…may have done some things that didn't exactly…endear me to him." Diane sat opposite Rachel, using the movement as an excuse to slide her gaze guiltily away from the blond woman.

The inspector's expression was shrewd. "What things?"

"He still blames me for the hostage thing in the warehouse. He says I almost got his wife killed, and he won't forgive me. He undermines me any chance he gets and it's made it so we can't work together anymore. It wouldn't have any effect on me working with Nikki, though, if that's what you're worried about, Ma'am." She added, after a moment, trying to cover the fact that while it was true that Doug was making her life difficult, it was only partly for the reason Diane had said.

There was a pause, with Rachel scrutinising the sergeant in front of her. Finally, she spoke. "I do need a new sergeant, after Stone's…transfer. Okay, I'll talk to Heaton and Kane; see if we can get your application fast-tracked. But if I see any evidence that any personal problems you have with Doug affect your working relationship with Nikki, I'll be very disappointed."

"Understood, Ma'am. Thank you." Diane grinned, and Rachel stood.

"I'll speak to Heaton when I get back to Sun Hill. If he agrees, you should be back at Sun Hill by next week, so I'll see you there. It'll be good to have you back."

Diane stood to shake her hand. "Thank you again, Ma'am."

***

About a week later, towards the end of her last shift at Barton Street, Diane was clearing her locker when a voice issued from the doorway.

"I heard you were transferring back to Sun Hill."

Diane glanced up to see Doug leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded. "You know this is the women's locker room, right?" she queried, turning her attention back towards her locker.

"Is it true?" He asked, ignoring her comment.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Why do you think, Doug? You seem determined to make my life hell, and Weston needs a new sergeant, so I requested a transfer."

"Right. So it was an opportunistic choice, then. It's got nothing to do with you wanting to be closer to Nikki."

Diane closed her eyes briefly and resisted the urge to bang her head against the locker. "Doug, for god's sake. It was one kiss. It meant nothing. We had guns being waved at us, I was slowly bleeding to death from a bullet wound, we were scared, and we both needed some comfort, okay? It didn't mean anything." Not strictly the truth, but what Doug didn't know couldn't hurt him. Much.

"Right." He repeated, disbelieving. "She's got a family, you know. Do you even care about that?"

"Doug, I'm not talking about this with you anymore. It meant nothing. Nikki loves you; she loves her kids. So just, forget about the other crap, okay? I have, Nikki has. You're the only one who keeps dragging it up." She finished emptying her locker and zipped up the holdall. "You're being paranoid." With that, she stood and slung the bag strap over her shoulder, wincing slightly as her muscle reminded her it wasn't fully healed yet.

"Paranoid? So it's my paranoia that hears her moaning your name and crying out in her sleep, is it? Paranoia that says she's spending longer and longer at work, shutting me out? No, this has something to do with you. She won't talk to me. Her own husband!"

Concern for Nikki shot through her, but she hid it under a layer of hostility. "Doug, she went through a very traumatic experience. It gave me nightmares and I was zoned out for most of it. And frankly, if you're carrying on with her the way you're carrying on with me, I'm not surprised she won't talk to you."

Doug advanced toward her, looking furious. "You dare…"

"What's going on here?" A new voice cut through air. Doug turned and came face to face with Bryce. "Doug, why are you in the women's locker room?"

Doug took a moment to compose himself before he answered. "Just telling Sergeant Noble how much I'll miss her when she transfers, Sir." Bryce missed the subtle venom in his voice, but Diane didn't.

"Well, do it elsewhere. The door says 'female' for a reason."

"Sir." Doug shot her one last malevolent glare before he left. Bryce watched him go, then stretched out a hand to Diane.

"It's been a pleasure working with you, Sergeant. I'm sorry to see you go."

'_Wish I could say the same.'_ Diane thought, while outwardly she shook the inspector's hand, replying with a suitable platitude before leaving the room, walking out of Barton Street for the final time.

* * *

**AN: So I got bored writing about Barton Street, and I figure if I kept Diane there much longer, I'd have to start coming up with more OCs than I already do, and I'm too lazy. Plus, I miss the other Sun Hill peoples, and thus Diane shall return! Yay! **

**Apologies to any Callum Stone fans out there for writing him out of the story, but I just don't like the guy. Why he's gone will be explained briefly later, and may feature in a seperate one shot. I do have a scenario in my head, it'll just depend on whether or not I'm un-lazy enough to write it out. It may be sort of peripherally important in the sequel, but we shall see.  
**


	6. Home Again, Home Again

**Chapter Six – Home Again, Home Again**

_I'm surprised it got so far  
Things aren't the way they were before_

Returning to Sun Hill was like going home. The relief welcomed her with open arms, literally in Smithy's case; he greeted her with a hug and a murmured "Knew you couldn't stay away". Nikki also hugged her, which surprised Diane and sent a thrill through her body at the contact before the other sergeant drew back, looking awkward.

Sun Hill quickly reminded her why it had it reputation as one of the busiest nicks in London. On her second shift, Weston had paired her with Nikki; Diane suspected it was to test her claim that they could work together despite her problems with Doug. The assertion wasn't really challenged, though the conversation was stilted and forced and the general atmosphere uncomfortable. Nikki kept stealing glances at her colleague when she though she wasn't looking, and occasionally drawing a breath as if to say something, though she never followed through.

Mid-morning, they were called to an attempted mugging on the Bronte. Tony greeted them at the scene. "Sarge. Right, we've got one James Moran, reckons a kid accosted him as he got out of his car, demanding money. He was waving a water pistol around, claiming it was a gun. When Mr Moran realised he wasn't about to get shot, he fought back and the kid ran off. Leon's getting a description now."

"Thanks Tony, could you get—" Nikki was cut off mid-sentence by a man, presumably Mr Moran, shouting and pointing at a boy of about fifteen who was trying and failing to look inconspicuous as he snuck through the crowd that had gathered.

"That's him! That's the kid!"

The boy in question took off. Diane swore and ran after him with Nikki close behind her. The sergeants chased him to an underground car park where they caught up to him as he was trying to force open a locked door . He turned, and Diane recognised him with a start. "Benny Baker?"

He looked at her, a flash of recognition flooding his eyes. "Oh my god; PC Noble, are you following me or summat?"

"It's Sergeant Noble now. And I could ask you the same thing; what're you doing in London?"

"Mum moved here, didn't she. Said we needed a fresh start." he answer, while Nikki looked curiously between the two of them.

"Someone gunna fill me in?"

"Benny here was my favourite reprobate in Hertfordshire." Diane explained. "Graced us with his presence at least once a fortnight, didn't you Benny? Give it up, mate. You won't make it." The sergeant added, noting how he was judging with his eyes if he could make a run for it. Benny looked from one officer to the other, before his shoulders sagged and he held his arms out in front of him.

"Hey, since I gave myself up, that'll look good for the judge, right?" He questioned as Nikki was cuffing him. The blond sergeant gave him an incredulous look.

"Since you made us chase you for a mile and a half first, no, I don't think so." Nikki answered him as Diane hid a grin.

***

As they were leading him back to the scene, Benny, who until then had been trading bantering comments with Diane, fell silent and froze, then wrenched himself out of Nikki's grip and dived behind a parked car. He made no attempt to escape, just lay there peering past the wheels with an expression of utter terror on his face.

"What the hell are you doing?" Diane questioned, moving so she could haul him to his feet. The teenager looked up at her, his face filled with fear.

"Noble, I kinda like you, and I don't want you to die, so get down here now and shut up, hear me?"

"What?"

"Trust me." Something about his tone and the look in his eye made Diane do as he said, kneeling down beside him. After a moment's hesitation, Nikki copied her action.

"Right, why are we playing hide and seek?" Diane whispered, rolling Benny onto his front to stop him leaping up.

He was too scared to even complain. "Okay, did you see those two guys in the far corner? The smaller one calls himself Nox. He's bad news; I've been in town two days and I already know to stay away. He's into seriously heavy stuff, even the gangs don't mess with him. He killed a guy for giving him the wrong change once."

"How serious?"

"Guns. You want a piece, he can get it for you. And if you need rid of one, he takes care of it, for a price. The bigger guy is his muscle. If he sees you two, he'll kill all three of us."

Nikki and Diane traded a glance and Diane reached for her radio. _"Sierra Oscar from 48."_ The only response was static. After a few seconds, she repeated the call, and again there was no response. She swore softly. "Of course it's a dead spot…"

"No, it's Nox, he's got this thing." Benny told them both. "It messes with phones and stuff. His still works, but no one else's does. It's really weird."

"What do we do?" The sergeants shared another glance. Nikki shook her head. "No way."

"What?"

"You're about to suggest you go and take a closer look. I'm saying no way."

"I'll be fine, it won't take long." There was a strange feeling in her stomach at Nikki reading her so easily, but Diane ignored it with the ease born of much practise.

"Remember the last time you said that? You're only just off light duties from the last bullet you took!" The sergeants glared at each other. Nikki's eyes held a storm of emotions, which made it difficult for Diane to decipher any one feeling in them.

"Oh man, you got shot? That is so cool."

"Shut up, Benny." both sergeants muttered at the same time, neither taking their eyes away from their wordless debate.

Eventually Nikki realised she probably wasn't going to win the silent battle of wills and relented. "Fine. But I'm coming with you."

"You can't. One of us has to stay with him." Diane nodded toward the teenager lying between them, who looked a combination of impressed and terrified. "I'll be five minutes; keep trying the radio." Nikki started to protest, but the other sergeant was gone.

Diane snuck from car to car, keeping her head down, until she got close enough to the pair to hear what was said. It was obvious they were waiting for somebody.

"He is late. He should have been here ten minutes ago." Nox's voice was cultured, but with an accent that Diane couldn't place.

"He'll be here, boss. You know what Jackson's like. Maybe he had some trouble convincing our 'friend'." Nox's bodyguard had Manchester accent.

"His job is not to convince, it is simply to bring the man to me. I will be the one to convince him."

"Yes boss." Diane ducked as an SUV rolled past where she was hiding and stopped beside the arms dealer and his bodyguard. A third man climbed out of the driver's seat and addressed Nox.

"Boss, I'm sorry I'm late, I—" Nox held up a hand, forestalling his explanation.

"Never mind that, Jackson. Did our 'friend' agree to meet me?"

"Yes boss." Jackson replied with a slight grin, going to the passenger side door and opening it. "Out, now. The boss wants to talk to you." Whomever it was refused to move. Jackson's frown grew, and out of his waistband he pulled a pistol, which he pointed into the car. "I said out! The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting!"

A forth man climbed shakily out of the car, his gaze shifting rapidly between the gun in Jackson's hand and Nox himself. "I told the first goon you sent, I'm not working for you, Nox! I don't do that kind of work anymore."

"You don't speak unless spoken to!" Jackson raised the gun, as if to pistol whip the unfortunate man, but Nox held up a hand.

"Jackson, enough. Put that away, there is no need for that unpleasantness. Mr Sams is going to be very co-operative."

"Like hell I am, Nox." The absence of the gun seemed to have strengthened Leo's spine somewhat. "I told your last guy, I haven't done that sort of work in years. I've lost all my contacts."

"Contacts may be remade."

"No Nox, I've got a family to think about now. What'll happen to them if I end up inside?"

"I am well aware of your family situation. I can assure you, they will be looked after if you are incarcerated as a result of our business."

"No Nox, I told you. I'm not coming to work for you."

"That is a shame. I was hoping we could come to some sort of arrangement without all this unpleasantness. But if you insist on being stubborn…" The arms dealer nodded to the bodyguard at his shoulder, who pulled out a mobile phone and spoke into it softly. Then he held it up and flicked on the speakerphone.

A woman's terrified voice shattered the relative quiet at the same time as a hand clamped over Diane's mouth.

* * *

**AN: Dun dun duunnnn. C'mon people, it's Australia Day. Be nice to me and review.**


	7. Road Trip?

**Chapter Seven – Road Trip?**

_Should your drama prove sincere  
Do it somewhere far away from here._

Diane struggled for a second against the restraining hand until she recognised the faint perfume and a voice breathed in her ear. "Relax, it's me."

"Jeez, Nikki, don't do that to me." Diane whispered as Nikki moved her hand, feeling an increase in her heart rate that was only partially to do with adrenaline.

"Sorry."

"Where's Benny?"

"Cuffed him to a drain grate and told him to keep quiet. He didn't—" Nikki fell silent as the woman's screaming – which had been covering the officers' whispered conversation – stopped, and Leo's yelling took its place.

"My god, Nox what have you done! That was my wife, you bastard! Where's my son?!" He made a lunge at the arms dealer, but the bodyguard seized the front of his jacket and slammed the unfortunate Leo against the wall before he made contact. Leo continued to yell at Nox, until the diminutive man lost his patience.

From a holster under his jacket, Nox extracted a handgun. In one fluid movement, he brought it up, aimed, and fired. The bullet lodged in the wall three inches from Leo's head, causing the terrified man to fall silent and, if possible, turn paler.

"That is better. Your son was left where he was found, Mr Sams. Your wife will be taken care of, and will remain under my protection as long as you co-operate. Do we have a deal?"

"Please, just let her go, I'll— I'll do whatever you want, I swear. Just please, don't hurt her."

"I knew you would come around, Mr Sams. My men will contact you in a few weeks. You will speak to no one else of this meeting. It will be a pleasure doing business with you." Nox nodded to his bodyguard, who promptly dropped the distraught man. The three arms dealers climbed into the car, and the two sergeants ducked down as it drove away, leaving Leo as a quivering lump on the floor.

After waiting a moment to be sure the others were gone, Diane and Nikki stood and approached the man, who was curled up in a semi-foetal position, muttering to himself and sobbing. As they drew closer and knelt down beside him, they made out what he was saying.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, please, no. What'll I do, god, help me, no, no, no…"

"Sir?" Diane laid a hand on his shoulder. "Sir, I'm Sergeant Noble…"

His head shot up, and he grabbed her hand. "Police? You gotta help me! They took my wife! You have to help me, please! I can't do what he wants, you have to help me, he's gunna kill her! My god…"

"It's okay, sir, just try and relax. We're gunna help you." She looked across at Nikki. "We're gunna need CID. And a CSE to retrieve that bullet."

Nikki nodded. "I'll go get Benny, then go find somewhere I can radio from. Will you be alright with him?"

Diane looked down at Leo Sams, who was once again curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth. "I think I'll be okay."

***

Back at Sun Hill, Diane had taken Leo to the soft interview room while they waited for someone from CID. He was still agitated, and paced restlessly around the room, ignoring Diane's repeated suggestions that he sit down. He would fire questions at the sergeant at random intervals, and she did her best to reassure him.

"What about my son? I have to make sure he's safe." He started for the door, but Diane stopped him.

"We've sent a car to get him, Mr Sams, he'll be here soon. You need to calm down." She guided him to the sofa and sat down next to him.

He sat, grudgingly, and dropped his head into his hands. After a moment of silence, he spoke. "My name's not Leo Sams anymore." He looked up, and upon seeing Diane's questioning look, elaborated. "That was my name before. I changed it after I got outta prison the second time and found out my wife'd had our son. I didn't want that life anymore. I'm called Marcus Stewart now."

"I see." Anything the sergeant might have been about to add was cut off as the door opened to admit Stevie and Terry. Diane explained what Marcus had just told her, and both detectives nodded before taking a seat on the opposite sofa. Stevie spoke first.

"Right, Mr Sa—Stewart," she corrected herself. "Why do you think this Nox guy kidnapped your wife?"

"I used to be a smuggler; I brought goods in from the continent. But like I told her," he nodded towards Diane, "once my kid was born, I didn't want to be part of that world anymore. We moved, changed our names, started over."

"What's this got to do with Nox?"

"He wants me to help him bring stuff over. I told him I don't do that no more, but he won't listen. He started by sending his people to harass me, and when that didn't work he trashed my car. He took Helen as a final warning."

Terry frowned. "You didn't report any of this to the police?"

Marcus looked at him like he was insane. "What, and add another reason for him to come after me? No way in hell."

"Do you know what he wanted to bring into the UK?"

"He didn't say. Listen, you have to help me. There's no way I can do what he wants! And if I don't, he'll kill her."

"Would you be willing to identify him?" Stevie asked.

Marcus shook his head violently. "No way, if he finds out, I'm toast. He'll do much worse than kill my wife if he finds out I grassed on him. I'm only here now because you're my last hope."

There was a knock on the door, and a uniform pushed it open. A young boy of about eight pushed past him into the room with a cry of "Dad!". Marcus stood to embrace his son, and the three officers moved away.

"We'll give you some time with your son, Mr Stewart. Thanks for your help." The three of them left the room, and Diane motioned for the PC who'd brought the boy to stay and keep an eye on the boy and his father.

As she made to follow the detectives up to the incident room, Millie caught up to her. "Sarge, just thought you'd like to know Benny Baker's been bailed. We're waiting for the CPS to decide if the information he gave you is enough to let him off with a caution."

Diane thanked her before making her way to the incident room, making a mental note to check on Benny the first chance she got.

***

As Terry was updating the whiteboard and Stevie was filling Nikki in on the developments, DI Manson swept into the room. "How's it going so far?"

"We've got nothing, Guv. Sa—Stewart's refusing to identify this Nox guy, and Sergeant Wright couldn't find him on the database."

"I might have something. Going on what Diane said about the bigger guy's accent, I called a friend of mine in Manchester, DS Morris. He was very excited when I told him two of our officers had seen Nox. Apparently they've been after him for months, but they've never been able to get a positive ID on the guy. Morris has requested we send some of our officers to aid in the investigation, so Stevie, I'm sending you as well as Smithy, Nikki and Diane. You're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"Why us, Guv? I mean, Inspector Weston isn't gunna be happy that you're pinching three of her sergeants." Diane pointed out, stealing a glance at Nikki to see her reaction. He face was unreadable.

"I've cleared it with Rachel. Smithy, because his weapons expertise has helped before, you and Nikki because you're apparently the only living people willing to identify this guy, and Stevie because someone from CID should be going."

"Sir, I've got four kids at home. Can't they go without me?" Nikki sounded sincere, but Diane's suspicions were ignited at her lack of response to the DI's answer.

"I'm sorry Nikki, Morris specifically asked for both witnesses. Two is better than one, I guess." Nikki merely nodded, looking unhappy. Diane knew, though, that if Nikki had really not wanted to go, she would've put up more of a fight.

"How are we getting there, Guv?"

"You'll come in early tomorrow and take one of the pool cars. You can leave your personal cars in the yard. You'll probably be there a few days, so pack a bag."

***

"Doug's really not gunna like this…" Nikki muttered to herself as she and Diane followed Manson from the incident room, leaving Terry moaning about Stevie getting a holiday and leaving him stuck with all the paperwork. That awkwardness between the two sergeants had all but vanished since they'd left the car park with Benny, which Diane was taking as a good sign.

"It's the job, right? Surely he knows that."

"Doesn't mean he's not gunna be annoyed at me." They'd reached the sergeants' office. Diane glanced in and groaned at the pile of papers resting in her in-tray. "Been neglecting our paperwork, have we?" Nikki questioned with a smile.

"A bit." The other sergeant admitted with a sheepish grin of her own. "D'you reckon if I ignore it, it'll go away?"

Nikki just kept grinning at her, then patted her consolingly on the shoulder. "Enjoy. I'm going home."

"Night, Nikki." Diane watched the other sergeant retreat down the corridor before sighing and making her way over to her desk.

Ten minutes and exactly two pages later, Diane realised that she'd read the same sentence six times and had absolutely no idea what it said. Taking that as a sign that there was no way she'd get any of the reports done that night, she gave up. After strategically rearranging some of them, she left the office and headed to the locker room.

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**AN: Woo, so we were back in Sun Hill a grand total of two chapters and I got bored. That's my attention span for you, so off to Manchester we go.**


	8. Emotional Tangents

**AN: Apologies for the wait, I got distracted by SVU. **

**I'm not entirely sure about this chapter, 'coz I'm normally only good at emotional crap when I'm drunk, but I'm not sure how to fix it so I'm just going with it.  
**

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**Chapter Eight – Emotional Tangents**

_Just one more hit, and I'll be fine  
I swear to God, this will be my one last time!_

Diane was making her way out of the station when she almost ran into another person. "Nikki?"

The other sergeant looked mildly surprised to see her. "That was quick."

"I couldn't concentrate properly. And I may have slipped some of it on to Smithy's desk. What?" She defended herself under Nikki's faintly disapproving look. "His in-tray was annoyingly empty. What're you still doing here? I thought you'd be long gone."

"Car won't start. I was trying to decide if I should call Doug to pick me up or just get a cab." _And avoid the argument._ Nikki didn't actually say that, but Diane heard it in her tone.

"I'm going your way, do you want a lift?" Diane offered, after a brief internal debate.

"Are you sure? I can just get a cab…"

"No, c'mon, I'll give you a lift." Diane insisted.

Nikki wavered, then gave in. "Alright. Thanks."

***

The drive was quiet, but not unpleasantly so. As the car pulled up in front of Nikki's house, the blond sergeant broke the long silence. "Thanks for this, Di. I'll see you tomorrow." She looked like she'd wanted to add more, but instead just smiled hesitantly and climbed out.

"'Night Nikki." Diane murmured after her. She stayed where she was, watching the other sergeant until she reached the door and disappeared inside. She heard the muffled calls of children shouting "Mum's home!" from inside the house, and grinned slightly. The children reminded her of her own son, Robert, and she realised with a jolt that she hadn't called him since just after the incident in the warehouse.

"I'll call him when we get to Manchester." She muttered to herself. Diane let her thoughts wander for a while longer before snapping out of it, realising that she was still sitting outside Nikki's house. The sergeant shook her head gently in an attempt to clear it, and started the engine.

Diane had driven to the end of the street and turned around when she noticed the figure walking in the opposite direction. With a jolt of surprise – along with another emotion she didn't feel like analysing – she realised that the figure was Nikki. The sight of her walking down the street, obviously upset, ignited an internal conflict in Diane that was decided after the first raindrop splashed across the windscreen.

"_I must be mad…"_ Diane thought to herself as she pulled up beside her colleague. _"Mad or masochistic… Or both…"_ She wound down the window and called out. "Nikki!" The other sergeant turned, and Diane saw she had been crying.

"Di? What…?"

"Robert called, so I spoke to him for a while. You know, the whole 'no talking and driving' thing…" It was only a white lie, and it gave Diane a legitimate excuse for her continuing presence there. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, don't worry." Nikki flinched as a raindrop hit her face, mimicking the path of her previous tears.

"Don't be stupid. Get in." When Nikki hesitated, Diane continued. "I'm not gunna leave you here by yourself to get rained on. C'mon."

Nikki still looked hesitant, but she climbed in the car regardless. She looked down at her lap, refusing to meet Diane's eye, but after a moment of silence, she spoke. "Me 'n Doug had a fight. He's not happy about me going to Manchester." Nikki sniffed and wiped her eyes angrily. "I hate this. I hate that we've become so…so…"

"Distant?" Diane offered. She shrugged at Nikki's expression. "I've been there."

Nikki looked back down and her entwined fingers. "It was like this before. With my first husband, Jason. He and I were like this, fighting all the time and one of us storming off. Right before we got divorced." A tear splashed across her hand. "I don't want me 'n Doug to end like that." Another tear joined its fellow before Nikki angrily dashed at her eyes again. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't be talking about this, not with you."

The phrasing of that statement struck Diane as odd, but she pushed it from her mind as Nikki reached for the door handle. "Nikki, Nikki, wait." She hesitated briefly as the other sergeant froze, before inwardly berating herself and continuing. "Why don't you come stay at mine tonight? I've got spare room. It'll give both of you a chance to cool down. We can sit on the couch and drink wine and complain about how we'll miss out on all our paperwork for the next few days." Diane refused to listen to that little voice in her head that was questioning her motives for offering Nikki sanctuary.

Nikki herself seemed to be hesitant, but the offer was obviously tempting her. "What about my stuff for Manchester?"

"I can drop you back here tomorrow. I could even give you a ride to the station, if you'd like. Save you having to leave your car in the yard for Nate to run in to."

Nikki let a smile tug at her mouth, then settled into her seat and reached for the seatbelt. "Okay."

***

Only once they were both settled on the sofa with a glass of wine did Diane re-examine her colleague. Nikki's eyes were no longer red and her breath had stopped hitching every few inhales, but Diane could still sense a sadness in the woman beside her. She cast around for a safe topic of conversation, and settled on work. "Benny got bail, and it looks like the CPS aren't gunna charge him in light of the information he gave us."

"That's good. I actually liked that kid, I think."

Diane smiled. "Yeah, he has that effect on people."

"So what's the deal you and him?"

Diane let out a breath and looked down at the glass in her hand. "He's a good kid, really. He just hasn't had much of a chance. My first week in Hertfordshire, I pulled him from a car wreck just before the thing exploded. That was my first reprimand for recklessness." Diane flashed a quick smile at the memory before sobering. "Didn't get his dad out in time, though." She took a sip of wine before continuing. "His mum went a bit off the rails after that, and Benny became your typical troubled teenager. He'd be at the station every other week on some minor charge, shoplifting, vandalism, stuff like that. My sergeant there had been a friend of his dad's, so he did his best to keep him outta juvie, but…" The sergeant shrugged. "He ended up doing three months. He was still inside when I came back here. My old sergeant retired just after that, so I sort of figured Benny was screwed 'coz there'd be no-one looking out for him anymore."

"At least he's back where you can keep an eye on him, and he's got someone to go to if things get bad." Nikki muttered something into her drink that sounded suspiciously like 'I miss having that', and Diane's mind flashed back to the last conversation she'd had with Doug.

"Wanna talk about it?" Diane was probably more surprised than Nikki when she heard herself say those words, but it was too late to take them back. Diane wasn't even sure she wanted to.

Nikki didn't look up as she replied. "Not really. Probably should, though…"

"You can talk to me, you know. I was there too." Nikki looked up questioningly, and Diane shrugged. "Doug mentioned you hadn't been sleeping well since the whole hostage thing, and that you weren't talking to him about it. I figured it might be easier for you to talk to me, since I was there too." Diane shrugged again. "Think of it as a belated debrief."

Nikki didn't say anything, and for a moment Diane thought she wasn't going to respond at all. Then suddenly, she drained her glass before reaching for the bottle to refill it. After taking another gulp of her wine, she began to speak. "I took time off to try and fix things at home. After Doug got stabbed, we were fighting more often, I was spending more time at work, things weren't great. And for a while it got better, after I took leave. But it didn't last very long. We started arguing again, cracks started showing, yano. That's why I came back to work, I was sick of being stuck at home all the time with only fighting with Doug to look forward to." Nikki's eyes shifted from staring into the depths of her glass to the blank TV screen as she took another gulp. Diane remained silent as she refilled her own glass, sensing that Nikki needed to finish without interruption. "It got a bit better, but we're still drifting apart. I guess the warehouse thing just focused it. I did try talking to Doug about it, but he just didn't get it. He didn't understand. He doesn't understand why I'm still having the nightmares, or why I won't talk to him about them. But I can't talk to him, he'd just get jealous again. He wouldn't see, he'd just tell me to move on, but I can't, and he wouldn't get it…" Diane could see the sheen of unshed tears in Nikki's eye, and she itched to comfort her. She held back, though, knowing that the combination of emotion and alcohol would probably lead to something they'd both regret.

"What wouldn't he get?" She prompted, knowing that Nikki needed to talk it out.

"He wouldn't understand why I'm dreaming about you." Diane felt a warm buzz flow over her at that, but mentally slapped herself with a command to ignore it. "He'd get jealous, he'd ask why I'm dreaming about what would've happened if they hadn't found us, or if the bullet had gone a few inches to the right, or…" She was crying again, and Diane felt her heart constrict.

Disregarding her determination to keep her distance, she set her mostly-empty glass down on the coffee table and shifted closer to her fellow sergeant, wrapping her arms gently around her shoulders. "Hey, it's okay. I'm still here." She manoeuvred Nikki's wine glass to sit beside her own to avoid spilling it before allowing the blond woman to bury her head in her shoulder and cry. Diane's body was reacting to having the other woman so close, but she resolutely ignored it, fighting the urge to lose herself in the warmth of the embrace.

After a few minutes, Nikki's breathing became more controlled, and she lifted her head from Diane's shoulder. Diane felt a wash of cold at the loss of contact, but again forced it to the back of her mind. "I'm sorry." Nikki muttered, not meeting her eye.

"You don't have to apologise, even if you did bawl all over my shirt." Nikki smiled weakly at that. "Have you spoken to anyone else about this?" Nikki shook her head, and Diane left out an exasperated sigh. "You can't keep it all bottled up. I saw guys like that in the army, acting all tough; they were usually the ones that broke down. You gotta talk to someone."

"I used to. Doug and I used to talk about this stuff all the time. But I can't anymore, and there's no-one else…"

Diane cupped Nikki's cheek, wiping a fresh tear from the corner of her eye with a thumb and forcing her to meet her eye. "You can always talk to me. Always." Diane saw something flicker in Nikki's eye at her statement, but something happened moments later that drove it from her mind.

The kiss was soft at first, just the brush of her lips against Diane's own. It didn't stay that way, though, becoming more heated as emotion and intoxication took control over rational thought, and Diane slid her hand from Nikki's cheek to her hair as she deepened the kiss. There was a small part of Diane's mind telling her that this was a bad idea, but the rest of her told it to shut up. A moment later, Nikki moaned as Diane slowly shifted her position so she was straddling the other sergeant's lap, and Diane felt a thrill of desire flood through her as that moan vibrated against her lips. Her every lust and alcohol fuelled thought and action became focused on getting Nikki to make that sound again.

After another moment, however, Nikki pulled away with a suddenness that didn't bode well. Her eyes were focused on her hand, which was resting on Diane's hip. Or rather, she was focused on the metal band around her finger that was glinting innocently in the half-light. Her wedding ring.

Diane sobered up with amazing speed, finally realising where she was and what she was doing. "Shit, Nikki, I'm really sorry, I shouldn't've done that…"

Without looking at her colleague, Diane pushed herself off the sofa and left the room hurriedly, heading for her bedroom. She flopped down on her bed, partly questioning her own sanity, partly fighting down the urge to go and rejoin Nikki on the sofa. "What the hell are you doing, Noble?" she muttered to herself as she ran a hand down her face, trying to force images of what had just happened from her mind and get her body to stop reacting to the memory. But god, that moan…

Diane groaned and flipped over so she was lying on her stomach, then buried her head in a pillow in an attempt to block out the pictures in her mind. It wasn't very successful, but after a while the pictures transitioned into dreams, and the sergeant drifted into a restless sleep.

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**AN: I'd like to remind you that if you kill me out of sheer frustration, you'll never get to know what happens next. Reviews encourage me to write faster. (Hint hint)**


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